I will be doing a live chat at "A Million Memories" at 6pm pacific time aka 9 eastern.
looking forward to catching up with some old friends and meeting some new ones...and letting a cat or two out of the bag. (I guess i will have to go find a cat in a bag first)
I am moving at the end of the month and need to purge and get organized so i am having a huge garage sale! Tons of great craft and scrapbooking supplies (I have so much left over from all my design team days and purchases i never used) if anyone is interested post a comment and i will email you my home address. See you this weekend! Sale starts at my house @ 6:30 am-10:30 sharp.
Kennedy's senior prom was this weekend. So we decided to do an impromptu photo shoot. It was the most emotional time spent behind a camera i have ever expirienced. I kept thinking about how crazy it was that she was sitting in front of me...healthy, beautiful, smart. So far from the preemie baby she started out as.
It is been way too long since i posted on my blog, and i am this is going to be a quick post. I promise to post more often. Time seems to slip away faster than i can keep up.On the bright side that means i am way to busy, need more hours in the day. You know the story.
My Space or Yoursmade some amazing new Myspace background layouts with some of my recent artwork....here's a couple of teasers.
If anyone is looking for something fu to do this sunday with their familes....Join me at the Mamapalooza event in Irvine. Creative Imaginations will have a vendor booth, i will be helping out in the booth too.....stop by and say hi if you have the chance!
My Daughter sophia sent this to me in an email yesterday. It is too precious not to share. I should warn you that you may want to grab a tissue before reading this story.
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was
carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders a nd went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.
They really should get lives.
' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him befor e.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
with my friends
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
' He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends..
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never
be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship..
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
Graduation da y, I saw Kyle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
' Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
I am here to tell all of you that being a fri end to some one is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the
story of the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
'Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.
This story struck me for two reasons....just the night before Sophia and i were talking about concerns she had for one of her friends. She believes her friend may have an eating disorder, my sister has an eating disorder so we know first hand how serious this can be, and this it is a life threatening issue. So i told Sophia that she needs to find a way to let her friend know that there is help out there and that first and foremost....Sophia is her friend with out judgement and without conditions.
Secondly this story struck me because like Kyle in the story I too had a friend, his name was Adam Miller. He saved me from doing the *unspeakable* when i was 17. He saved my life....Kennedy my oldest is his namesake(her middle name is Quinn, so is his). She is a constant reminder of what could have been.
Thought i would show you my favorite collection from my Winter CHA releases. this one is called ASIAN FUSION. It is really true to my colors, love of texture and of course decor. The papers with the silver and black gradients are actually black foiled. the other three papers have a shiny clear lacquer over some of the design elements, making it a bit more textural and rich.
This was kinda fun. I made o couple of posters for a local band called GIN PISTON out of Oceanside CA. I have known the singer for years, he is an amazing guy. It is so cool to see him having a great time playing his music singing his heart out.
Can you believe it is already that time of year again...Winter CHA is only a few more days away. Sneak peeks are going up left and right. I am always in awe of what my fellow artists come up with. There are a few collections i cannot wait to get my hands on. CI always has some incredible colletions and great products that inspire me to take a minute and create for myself.
I am often asked what inspires me to create certain collections....So I thought this time I would tell the story with each sneak peek.
Last summer after CHA i certainly needed a tropical get-away. The tradeshows are wonderul but they sure do wear me out. A weeks worth of standing on my feet 12 or more hours a day, made me more than ready for break. The day after Summer CHA i went to Cabo San Lucas for several days, i just needed the time to refresh, renew, and re-energize. I cannot tell you how good it felt to lay beneath palm tree by a pool overlooking the beach. Of course i had my camera with me and i started taking pictures while laying down. I did not want to exert any extra energy. While i was taking pictures of my surroundings it dawned on me that this could be a collection. So there you have it, now you know....the inspiration behind the collection.
Of course no sneak peek would be finshed with out a sample or two....Patty Lennon, did a bang up job! Just as i knew she would. Thanks Patty!
I meant to snag this off the CI blog a while ago but got sidetracked by a house full of sickies (boy do i dislike this time of year when we all pass the *bug* around) Anyway I love this photo....The CI crew is absolutely like and extended family to me. It has almost been 5 years that i have been with the company designing products, essentially getting paid to play. I count my blessings everyday that I am lucky enough to call the people I work with friends and family.
Every once in a while I get these emails that just make my day.
Janine Rivas emailed me to let me know she posted some photos of a room she painted for a teen using my artwork as the inspiration. She did an amazing job. Seriously take a minute and check out the photo album on her myspace page, this is one talented lady....Janine if you lived closer my girls would hire you for their rooms. The love what you did with their moms artwork!
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